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The Subjective Response to Nitrous Oxide is a Potential Pharmaco-Endophenotype for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Preliminary Study with Heavy Drinkers.

Walsh, K; Das, RK; Kamboj, SK; (2016) The Subjective Response to Nitrous Oxide is a Potential Pharmaco-Endophenotype for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Preliminary Study with Heavy Drinkers. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology , 20 (4) pp. 346-350. 10.1093/ijnp/pyw063. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Healthy people with a family history of alcohol problems show a pattern of subjective responses to alcohol that resemble those of affected probands. Studies on ketamine suggest that up-regulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) underlies these effects, and point to a pharmacologically-responsive endophenotype reflecting enhanced risk for alcohol-use disorders. METHODS: Subjective stimulant and sedative effects were assessed before and during nitrous oxide (N2O; 50%) inhalation in heavy drinkers who were otherwise healthy. RESULTS: Participants with an ostensible family history of alcohol-use disorders (n = 23) were distinguishable from those without such familial risk (n = 37) by an enhanced stimulation-to-sedation ratio during N2O inhalation. CONCLUSION: The pattern of subjective effects of N2O according to familial risk is remarkably similar to that previously seen with ketamine, supporting the idea of a common, NMDAR-mediated mechanism of action. N2O may prove to be a safe and accessible alternative to ketamine for probing heritable NMDAR dysregulation in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Type: Article
Title: The Subjective Response to Nitrous Oxide is a Potential Pharmaco-Endophenotype for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Preliminary Study with Heavy Drinkers.
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyw063
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyw063
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: NMDA receptor, alcohol, alcohol use disorder, endophenotype, nitrous oxide
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1508081
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